Writing Apprenticeship

Monday, September 9, 2013

We all have our opinions on what
it takes to be a writer. For me, it's not so much about attending classes and
knowing a list of literary definitions/devices, but more about honing my
skills. In school, I was a good English Lang/Lit student. By my early high
school years, I was crafting love stories that were passed around by my
classmates. I'm not sure why I stopped writing, but twenty years passed before
I was doing anything other than letters, proposals, reports and minutes.

Having come back to writing, it
took me a while to realize that books were no longer written the way they were
in the past. No longer were complex sentences in vogue. For someone like me,
who has a love for sentences that can be classified as flowery prose, it took
time to adapt.

In seeking to better my writing
skills, I joined an online writing workshop and to date, it's the best decision
I've made. I met some good, helpful and selfless writers, who were patient in
helping me with point of view and punctuation issues. Added to that, I've read scads
of articles on just about every aspect of writing. I also have a stash of books
on the craft.

A few years ago, when I wanted to
break in on the local scene, I did a course with a respected Caribbean writer
and teacher, who is now deceased. He had scant regard for commercial fiction,
which is exactly what I wanted to write. However, I'm eternally grateful to him
because he taught me some valuable lessons. I was blown away by the fact that
he thought I should never have stopped writing and that I was good at it. The
other thing he told me was that I needed to simplify my writing. Always use $5
words over $10 ones, he said.

I've never forgotten his advice.
The problem was, by the time I met him, I'd already written a half dozen
manuscripts. Over the last few days, I've been looking at one story I wrote
during that time and it's amazing how the advice I received then is going to be
useful now.

Another writer who helped me
tremendously with the ms mentioned above, kept telling me that Latinate words
were bogging down my story. Boy, do I know what he means five years later. You
see, in Jamaica we use British English and the first words I reach for (in combination with my writing
style) are usually clunky when applied to storytelling. Add to that my love for
complex sentences and you see what a challenge it becomes to weed the story
from the jungle of words.

I’ve come a long way since I took
up writing again in 2004 and as I like to say, there should be some kind of
rule against writing novels before we know what we’re doing. The agony of
multiple edits is the root of that opinion, but then how else do we learn other
than by practising? I don’t know any other way, so like any other job, a period
of agonyapprenticeship is a must.

The good thing is, with the
experience I’ve gathered, I’m better able to mould those earlier stories into
what I want them to be.

Don’t get discouraged, thinking
you can’t write unless you have a degree, or attend countless workshops and
conferences. All those things are desirable, encouraged, useful, but not
mandatory.

I haven’t done more than that
8-month stint I talked about earlier and that was after my writing was raked
through hundreds of critiques (some of which left me feeling violated) on that
online workshop. And might I mention that I’ve gathered some local awards from
judges who are tough critics?

In short, if you have the desire
to write and the stick-to-itiveness it takes to do multiple edits, plus a
yearning to have your stories published, then I say keep on doing what you’re
doing to get there.

Your turn. What do you think it
takes to be a writer. Book learning? Hours of practise? Natural ability? A
little bit of everything?

True, Holly. I've grown wiser from critiques. If one too many persons take issue with a particular thing, then I know that's gotta go. :) And I've also learned to make sensible decisions. If one particular scene or storyline isn't adding anything to the book, then that's gotta go too.

I too miss the language and structure of older novels. I still love a book that has gorgeous writing and descriptions. I am constantly pursuing self-education, workshops, online workshops, books-- always learning too.

Here's why I've stopped letting those thoughts bother me - Laura Marcella has some awesome info on her blog and I hoped I'd be able to find the article again and I did. :) Read this. It will inspire you.

I incline a bit to the "a bit of everything" view. A sound grounding in written English will help, but a writer who struggles with grammar can do it, if she knows it and finds an editor who can cover it. Hours of practice, for sure. I wonder if anyone without an MS or two hidden in the back of a drawer can write a publishable book? And without some natural ability (and the drive to write that often goes with it) I doubt a person will ever finish the first MS.

P.S. I spent years learning to write gawdawful academic prose for my PhD. I then spent years unlearning it so I could write readable fiction. So higher education can be detrimental!

One of the most helpful things I have found is simply reading books I enjoy while I am writing. On the one hand, I am reading for enjoyment, but the other side of my brain is paying attention to word choices, sentence structure, grammar, how each scene contributes to the plot, etc.

Of course, once you get the first draft done, nothing is better than critique so that when you make changes they are good ones!

Agree with you on the critiques, Robin. Mostly, i worry about the word choices when the story is done. That's when I find all sorts of things wrong with what I've written. Still learning to make good use of $5 words.

Actually writing is my #1 thought on what it takes to be a writer. Some people discuss writing a novel without putting down a word. I know the deceased teacher you're talking about. I wanted to take on one of his workshops but he died before I got the chance and Sharon Leach from The Jamaican Observer always spoke highly of him in her articles. In writing I'm the opposite in that I have a hard time writing the flowery prose and always knew that was never my writing path. You gave some great insight in your writing journey and I'm glad it all led to you being an author today.

I do know a small number of people who talk about writing, but never do anything about it. They're waiting for the right time. :) It was thanks to Wayne that I got my first story published locally. He was impressed with the story and told me to send it to Sharon.

I learned KISS (keep it simple stupid) early into my writing career. I learned to use everyday simple words. Also, I only took 2 writing courses. My writing ability stems from my passion and I guess, an inherent trait.

I understand what you mean by "clunky" writing. A lot of practice has helped me. I also write many drafts.

By nature, I'm probably a writer who loves the long complicated sentences, which I now realise is quite outdated. Writing flash fiction has helped with brevity, since every word has to be chosen with care.Writer In Transit